Melaim Bauta pays $9.5M to Gerald Leibman for 66-unit walkup in Hell’s Kitchen

Melaim Bauta through the entity 541 West 49 LLC paid $9.5 million to Gerald Leibman through the entity 541 Operating Corp. for 66-unit residential walkup building (C1) at 541 West 49th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan.
The deal closed on September 20, 2022 and was recorded on September 29, 2022. The property has 30,618 square feet of built space and 14,685 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 45,336 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $310 and the price per buildable square foot is $209 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Gerald Leibman was Gerald Leibman. The signatory for Melaim Bauta was Melaim Bauta.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, Pincusco has no record that the buyer Melaim Bauta had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Gerald Leibman had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Lawrence Tulman, head officer and Gerald Leibman, head officer. The business entity is 541;Operating;Corp. The 30,618-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.3 million or $41 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The 541 West 49th Street parcel has frontage of 75 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 7,531 square feet. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $5.1 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation, 23 housing violations, and $1,075 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million on this tax lot.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 22 commercial properties representing 91,905 square feet of the 410,944 square feet. The largest owner is Sackman Enterprises, followed by Ranger Management and then Pinnacle Group.
there are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 43 percent of the 410,944 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 39 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Gerald Leibman owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 67,104 square feet and a city-determined market value of $2.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $6.2 million in debt, borrowed from Lsl Services, Inc.. The portfolio consists of at least a single walkup property. It is located in Bronx.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Melaim Bauta owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 263,290 square feet and a city-determined market value of $14.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $38 million in debt, borrowed from New York Community Bank. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 87 percent of the 263,290 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 13 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

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